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Summer job search should include a look for a longer career path

Kim Davies.JPG

Kim Davies, site safety manager at Flowserve, talks with a high schooler at Education for Employment’s annual job fair held at Western Michigan University on April 17. Flowserve is a Texas-based provider of pumps, valves, seals, automation, and services to the power, oil, gas, chemical, and other industries. It has a location at 2100 Factory St. in Kalamazoo.
(Courtesy of Jim Murphy)

KALAMAZOO, MI -- With the summer of 2014 expected to be another tough year for high schoolers trying to find jobs, recruiters suggest they take a look at careers rather than mere jobs.

“I don’t know if any summer is particularly great (for high schoolers trying to get a job),” said Michael Scheidt, a retired guidance counselor from Portage Northern High School.

Adults looking for jobs are in competition with college students and teens 16 to 19 are constantly battling college-age kids for positions.

In the meantime, college students have advantages: they get out of school earlier; typically have more flexible schedules; and usually have more work experience. The hours many high schoolers can work are also limited if they participate in sports or activities that require summer training.

“It’s also a little tough at this age range because a lot of them (employers) want to set their sights on college-age people,” Scheidt said.

Jim Sertic, president of Accroseal, talks with a high schooler at Education for Employmentâs annual job fair held at Western Michigan University on April 17. Accroseal is a Vicksburg-based company that produces custom polymer components â including gaskets, seals and bearings -- and related products for industrial uses.Courtesy of Jim Murphy

But as coordinator of this year’s job fair for the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency’s Education for Employment Program, he knows there are jobs out there and employers interested in hiring young people.

He was able to bring 59 companies to Western Michigan University on April 17 to meet with about 400 job seekers from 19 area public, parochial and alternative high schools. The students had to sign up in advance through their guidance counselors.

The fourth annual Education for Employment Job
Fair looked to place high school juniors and seniors interested in part-time work in the summer, seasonal or full-time.

Many employers want young people they can train to work at the level and in the manner they need, Scheidt said. That can be an advantage over hiring people who have already learned other ways and have to be retrained.

“They like to have some of the younger, inexperienced workers because they'd like to mold and shape them," he said. "They (such workers) don’t have preconceived notions."

A student talks to a representative of the Michigan Department of Human Service on April 17 during the fourth annual Education for Employment Job Fair. EFE is a program of the Kalamazoo Regional Educational Service Agency, which strives to provide educational services to students and educators throughout Kalamazoo County. The job fair provides employers an opportunity to meet with students who are seeking full-time, part-time or summer employment.
Courtesy of Jim Murphy

At the job fair, they included positions at restaurants such as Pizza Hut, The Big Burrito and Qdoba Mexican Grill; automotive places such as Uncle Ed’s Oil Shoppe and Discount Tire; and the State of Michigan.

State recruiters included those from the Michigan Department of Human Services, the Department of Natural Resources, the Michigan Department of Corrections, the Michigan State Police, and the Michigan Department of Agriculture. Also taking applications or providing information were the city of Kalamazoo, the National Guard, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Rathco, T.J.Maxx and Summit Polymers.

“A lot of these places are looking to hire summer help,” Scheidt said. “They have people who take off and are going to be gone for the summer season.”

“We have a lot of seasonal help,” said Joe Dubnicka, assistant marketing director of Gull Lake View Golf Club & Resort. “Out of 230 employees, we only have 40 that are full-time workers.”

So he and Jami Newington, assistant villa manager for golf club and resort, were scouting at the job fair for young people they can train in high school. Once trained, the golf club and resort looks forward to having those young people work during summers through late high school and, if possible, through college.

“You don’t want to (repeatedly) train somebody new,” Dubnicka said. “We want them right now and get them coming here during the summers, and that’s perfect for us.”

Newington gives higher marks to job seekers who know about the place they want to work and understand what it does.

Bruce Freimark, a recruiter for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said his mission at the fair was to help young people consider potential career paths available there.

“We primarily use civil engineers and when people think about engineering classes they think about mechanical and electrical engineering,” he said. “So we try to let them know what civil engineers do and if they’re interested … consider them.”

Civil engineers are involved in the design, maintenance, building and/or operation of large construction projects and systems, including roads and bridges. They help resolve problems that the Department of Transportation has with bridges and roads, Freimark said.

“Maybe we have a lot of fatalities at a four-way stop,” he posed as a hypothetical situation. Civil engineers help identify what’s wrong and make changes, he said.

Freimark said considering career paths early is an advantage. High
schoolers can learn about coop programs with MDOT or other businesses
that are available in college and what courses they need to take to
qualify for them.

An added component of this year’s job fair was the Clifton StrengthsQuest, a program designed to help young people assess their top five talent themes, administered in partnership with Kalamazoo Valley Community College and the Kalamazoo Community Foundation. Thirty-minute online assessments were done at each student’s home school and interpretations of the results were provided in sessions before the job fair.

StrengthsFinder created a customized report for each student, listing his or her top five talent themes, action items for development, and suggestions for how to use their talents to achieve academic, career and personal success.

Another opportunity

An EFE event to expose girls to nontraditional career paths is set for May 16. The Expand Your Horizons Career Expo for Kalamazoo County is available to girls in grades 8 through 11 who attend public schools in Kalamazoo County.

“Educators from KVCC will introduce them to career areas that are not traditionally for the female gender,” Scheidt said. Those include work in such fields as automobile repair and law enforcement.

The event, which will include lots of women speakers, is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. on May 16. Interested participants have to sign up through their school guidance counselors.